Locomotive-firebox



R. 1. HIMMELRIGHT.

LOCOMOTIVE FIREBOX.

APPLICATION FILED IIIAY 4, |917.

1,369,105. Patented Feb. 22,1921. Y

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

III l, ,IIIll n l "H Q I J me/wien 11.1. HIMMELRIGHT.

LOCOMOTIVE FIREBDX. MPucATlroN FILED' MAY 4, 1911.

Patented 11912211921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1* I WIT/(E33: L Z /N VEN TR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALEIGH J. HIMMELRIGHT, OE NEW Yon-K, E. Y., ASSIGNOE To AMERICAN ARCHV COMPANY, 0E NEW YORK,N. Y., A CORPORATION OE DELAWARE.

LOCOMOTIVTrFIREBOX.

Specification of Letters Patent. Ptrgnted Feb. 22,v 1921.

Application filed Maya, 1917. serial No. 166,307.

To all whom it may concern: A' v ,Be it knoivn that l, RALEieT-r J. Hummm RIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Yorkcity, inthe county of New York and State of New York, have invented Certain new and useful, Improvements in Locomotive-Fireboxes, of which the following is ay specification- `This invention relates to improvements in locomotive fire boXes-andhas particular rel'- erence to tire boxes of the Gaines type, in which the fire' boX `is divided intoa `fire chamber and a combustion chamber by means or' a bridge wall extending across the lire box intermediate the Hue sheet vand the end of the grates,means being provided in said bridge Wall for introducing an additional supply of air. I

This invention embodies the same kgeneric idea oitx automatically controlling the introduction of the additional supply of air, as is disclosed in my co-pending application, Scrial Number 166.305,1iled May ath, 1917, but the specific mechanism employed yto Obtain, such automatic control is different from that shown in saidV application.

@ne of the primaryobjects,` therefore, of the present invention, resides in they provision o novel and ei'iective lmeans for' auto# matically controlling they supply of additional air in such manner that economyin fuel consumption vand better combustion,

with the consequent increase in general elli# ciency, are obtained. i

Another oi? ne object-s of the i, n`vention resides in providing means lwhereby ythe's'ec--` ondary Aair supply .is introduced when the engine is using steam only.

My invention also contemplates ythe pre-y heatingor super-heatingfol2 theJl air which is introduced through'the bridge 'wall l accomplish the foregoing, together with such other objects vas'mayhermatter ap peaigby means of a ccnstructionillustrated in preferred form in .thev accompanying drawings, Whereinzy' i Figure l is a longitudinal section through a locomotive firebox of the-Gaines type with my iinprovernentsapplied thereto; Fig.l

2 is a. horizontal section through the dire box; Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views of details ot the invention; and Fig. 5, is a modification of my invention.

Referring now to Fig. l, it Will 4be seen that the ire box comprises the usual liuc sheet 7, side sheets 8, back sheet 9, and crown sheet 10. The refractory brid e Wall 1l Which divides the fire box into t e lire chamber A and the combustion chamber B, i'scarried on the cross bearer 12 supported from the inside of the mud ring 13,y such bridge Wall extending across the fire box,

and being located in advance of the grates 14. The bridgewfall is composed of fire bricl or Othersuitable refractory7 material and'is carried up to the' c irculation tubes 1 5 Where it coperates with `the rearwardly extending brick arch 1G supported on the tubes..V In the bottom ofthe combustion chamber B is a vrdischargehopper 17 forthe removal of deposit. Additional quantities of air are introduced in the lire' chamber A through' the bridge Wall 11 by one or more air pipes 18. Coupled to the pipe orpipes 18 is a mainsupp'lypipe 19, the front end of which extends to a point in advance olf the front Water leg 20, the intermediate portions of such pipe being arranged'in the form of a coil `19`-lyinfr inthe bottom of the combustion .chamber in such `mannerfas 17, asivill clear from inspection of 2. The bottom ot eachfof the supply pipes 18 is 'closed by a Weighted valve 21, normally heldin closed position, but which will aut'o matically open todisch'a'rgeiany deposit or broken brick 'or o hermateral which may adapted'ito be engaged by the segment` 27( '8d not to interfere with the discharge 4hopper The segment 27 is provided with a Weighted arm 28 vvhifclrnormally by gravity holds the valve in closed position, vcutting oli' the supply through pipe lib Therod`25 isoperated by thejpiston 29 iny cylinder 30, steambeing introduced from the steam pipe (not shown) by means 01".' the pipe 31. The segment 2T is carried by the arm the cylinder 30. y

The operation is as follows: Then the locomotive isstanding sufficient air is sup plied through the grates 14' for the economi-- cal maintenance of the fire, but when the engine is Working, additional quantities of air must be introduced in order to obtain eco- `32 supported "from nomical operation and eiiiciency. By my present invention, the additional quantities of air are introduced through the pipe 19 when the engine is using steam, in which event, steam from the steam pipe entering the cylinder 30 via pipel forces the piston 29 to the left, thus causing the valve disk 23 to be opened through its operating mechanism, as will be readily understood. The suction in the lire chamber will draw additional quantities of air through pipe 19, coil 19, and pipe 18, when the valve is thus opened. It will be apparent that the degree to which the valve disk 23 is opened will be dependent upon the particular working conditions of the engine, because the pressure acting upon piston 29 will vary within considerable limits depending upon the degree of throttle opening being used, the speed of the locomotive, etc., and by properly arranging the weighted arm 28 with respect to such pressure, the degree of opening of the valve 23 can be automatically controlled. As a result of this, additional air will be supplied in proportion to the demands,as evidenced by the pressureoi:l the Working steam admitted to the piston 29. Thus, if the engine is working hard, the valve disk 23Awill be more widely open than When the engine is working easily. i

In this connection, it will, of course, be

understood that the weighted arm 28 will move the valve disk 23 to closed position when the engine is not using steam, and will also compensate for any variations in steam pressure in the cylinder 30. Thus, for example, if the steam pressure in the pipe 31 should drop when the engine is not working so hard, the weighted arm 28 will correspondingly return the valve disk23toward its seat. From the foregoing, it will be noted that the control mechanism is such that the volume of additional air will always be in proportion to the demands of the particular working conditions of the engine, which tends to maintain maximum efficiency at all times.

Thepreheating of the additional air supply, as it passes through the heating coil 19,

also tends toward the production of better ,combustion and general etiiciency and is far more advantageous than introducing cold air, as will be readily understood by those familiar with this art.

It desired, the additional air supplied through pipe 19 under the control of valve mechanism operated from working steam, may be forced into the ire chamber by steam as indicated in Fig. 5. In this modication,

mechanism, the end of the pipe being bent l in the manner indicated in Fig. 5. The pipe 33 is controlled by a valve 34 which is operated from the arm 24 by means of the link 35. When, therefore, the valve 23 is opened when the engine is using steam, the valve 34 will also be opened, and steam will be delivered into the pipe 19 in such manner as to entrain additional supply of air and force the same into the lire chamber, somewhat after the manner of an injector.

I claim:

' 1. The combination with a locomotive fire box having a transverse bridge wall or baffle to the rear of the flue sheet dividing the lire box into a combustion chamber and a re chamber, of an air inlet passage extending upwardly from the atmosphere through the bridge wall, and a conduit for supplying said inlet passage with supplemental air, a portion of said conduit being extended upwardly from its connection to the inlet passage and lying within the combustion chamber.

2. The combination with a locomotive tire box having a supplemental air inlet passage, of a valve for controlling said passage, means for introducing a jet of steam into the passage, a'valve for controlling said jet, a piston for opening both of said valves, and means forsubjecting the piston to the pressure of the working steam when the locomotive is operating.

3. The combination with a locomotive fire box having means for introducing an additional supply of air therein, of means for regulating said air supply including a valve, means for opening said valve, and means for subjecting said opening means to live steam presure when the locomotive is being operate 4. The combination with a locomotive fire box having a supplemental air inlet passage, of a valve vfor controlling said passage, means for introducing a jet of steam into the passage, a valve for controlling said jet, means for opening both of said valves, and means for subjecting said opening means to the pressure of the working steam when the locomotive is operating.

In testiV ony whereof I have signed my name. RALEIGH J. HIMMELRIGHT.

hereunto 

